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Thales completes ACSA parking security system contract

Thales Advanced Engineering has completed a multimillion rand contract from ACSA to manufacture and install an electronic on-line surveillance system for the parking facilities at Johannesburg Airport.

The Thales Sinon licence plate recognition system is being used in what is probably the largest parking security installation in the country. Cameras have been deployed to secure the parking areas and to cover the 44 entry and exit lanes. The parking facilities cater for up to 20 000 vehicles a day.

"The system is also fully integrated with the airport's pay-on-foot system by which visitors pay for their parking at numerous automatic payment machines stationed at pedestrian entrances to parking areas," says Thales Advanced Engineering's joint managing director, Dr Bennie Coetzer.

The contract included a special development project to ensure a system that was tailored specifically to meet the unique requirements of ACSA. The project was directed by ACSA security consultant, Peet Geldenhuys of BMS Consultancy.

The Sinon system is highly automated and monitors the entry and exit of each vehicle. The system extracts the number plate and colour of the vehicle from the entry event to significantly improve overall security. It automatically tracks the vehicle type, colour and registration and, because it can be linked to payment systems, it is ideal for security at open parking areas.

The automation features built into the system significantly improve overall security levels. The registration and colour of the vehicle type can be recorded on the parking ticket so that quick and easy reconciliations can be made. The security guards are only required to check out exceptions or instances where the comparatives do not match up.

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